Holiday Gathering Themes
Parties are a very important part of the holiday season. The difference between a festive get together and the party of the season is just simple planning. Part of that planning includes coming up with a festive theme, read on for some funideas.
- Swap meet. Have everyone, including yourself, buy a small gift (decide on a price limit like $5) and wrap it in the same exact kind of wrapping paper. Ask each person to bring some sort of goodie and similarly put it a container that you cannot see through. Put the gifts in a large bag and have each person reach in and pick one. For added mystery effect, it helps to have the gifts the same size so that no one can guess who the gift came from. One way to achieve this is to buy the appropriate amount of boxes for the number of guests and have everyone buy gifts that will fit in those boxes. One alternative to reaching in the bag is to place the gifts under a small tree, set up for the party. Set up a table for the goodies and then have everyone put them on that table and then mix them all up and have people choose a container sometime before they leave the party.
- Good old days. Create an old fashioned atmosphere with simple decorations and period clothing (such as 19th century). Use candles and lanterns for lighting and have homemade treats. Play party games instead of having the TV on and sing songs instead of listening to music. Play party games or tell a group holiday story where each person contributes to the story. The idea is to forego modern forms of entertainment and go back to the basics of socializing.
- Costume party. This can be a lot of fun as long as everyone dresses up. You need to be clear as to what kind of costume party it is such everyone dresses like someone from a famous holiday movie or story. You could also do a holiday cartoon character costume party or have everyone dress up as Santa and as one of the party games, try and guess who is under the beard!
No matter what type of theme you settle on, it is very important to decorate appropriately and offer goodies that go along with it. As the host/hostess, it is your job to set the tone for the party by dressing festively and having a cheerful attitude. If you are not having a good time, how can you expect your guests to have any fun?
Be sure to plan out the activities before the guests arrive in order to avoid having dull, awkward moments. One last tip is to send out festive invitations that clearly state what kind of party is being given, time and anything guests need to bring with them.
